Labor Day trip to the Keys-first time

Hi all

My hubby and I are virgins to the Keys and have 7 days to explore. Haven%26#39;t had a beach vaction in 5 years so we are due!

We%26#39;re looking for snokeling fun first and foremost, then listening to waves at night with a good drink in hand, good food and just down and out relaxation.

Hubby want%26#39;s national parks(which there are 3 to choose from..) We%26#39;re young empty nesters from Colorado so we love our nature and it%26#39;s just us for the trip.

How do I plan the itinerary? Budget is medium so I need lodging hints as well. We%26#39;ll fly in from Denver to Miami, pick up the car and run with the wind. We know we have 2 days each way of travel which gives us 7 days of fun.

Love your ideas for our much needed beach ';Keys'; vacation.

Shopgrl39

Labor Day trip to the Keys-first time

You should do some research here on TA on the Islamorada %26amp; Marathon forums. There are tons of posts on places to stay %26amp; things to do. Islamorada %26amp; Marathon are central in the keys and make a great base for exploring the rest of the keys. Also contact the chamber of commerce for one of the keys %26amp; they will send you an info packet which has maps %26amp; is helpful in seeing how the keys are in relation to what you want to do. I wouldn%26#39;t over plan. Pick a few of the main things %26amp; then just let the rest happen. You will have a better vacation then if you try to plan every minute. Enjoy!

Labor Day trip to the Keys-first time

First of all - when are you coming? I agree that staying in the Middle Keys (Isla/Marathon/Key Colony Beach) gives you the most flexibility. As for your lodging budget you may consider renting a condo or home rather than staying at a resort or even hotel/motel. There are many available for as little as $800/week up to $3000/week and more. Check out premierkeys.com. If you find one in the low to mid price range this will leave you some $$ to spend a night (or even 2) at one of the inns in Key West. Necessary for your Duval Crawl. Key Colony Beach Marina offers you diving/snorkeling as well as charter fishing, boat rental and great happy hour/dining. One stop shopping. There is tons to do. Visit the Marathon Chamber website floridakeysmarathon.com for just a start and, as earlier recommended, visit the Marathon and Key Colony Beach forums here for ideas and recommendations. Most important - have a great time! Oh - as for listening to the waves - we don%26#39;t really have waves down here, but we do have crystal clear water that%26#39;s perfect for swimming, snorkeling and fishing.

Sorry - I now see you%26#39;re coming for Labor Day! Also check out the Keys Kash coupons on fla-keys.com.

Thanks for all the help here! I%26#39;ll check into all the advice and look at renting too. So, it sounds like the middle keys is the answer for lodging and just weave our way up and down in the car?

Can%26#39;t wait to visit :)

Shopgrl

You might want to read my trip report; just search kathyva. I%26#39;m sure it will be too hot and buggy for the Everglades, but look into the Dry Tortugas National Park. Sorry we didn%26#39;t make it there on our first trip in April. Snorkel trips are available all the way down the keys, from John Pennenkamp National Park (Key Largo) to Coffin%26#39;s Patch (Key Colony Beach), Sombrero Reef (Marathon), Looe Key Reef (Big Pine Key), and half and full day trips out of Key West. We enjoyed staying in the lower keys way better than Key Largo. Bahia Honda State Park has a beautiful beach. We may have a lot in common...we are empty nesters and lived in Denver way back in the 70%26#39;s. Happy snorkeling!

Thanks for all the snokeling tips Kathy. I%26#39;ll check out your trip report. Since we want to ck out a couple of the national parks, would you recommend a few days in Key Largo before heading to the middle, and lower keys? I just booked our flight and we got a great fare by going a couple of days earlier so we will actually have 9 full days of fun :)

Thanks to all for the great help and advice!!

Shopgrl39

No, I wouldn%26#39;t stay in Key Largo again. It%26#39;s easy enough to travel from the middle keys to John Pennenkamp National Park to snorkel once there. As you travel further west in the keys, the scenery just gets better and better. My husband and I loved Big Pine Key for the unbuilt,open quality of this key. It is nicely located both to Key West and Bahia Honda State Park as well as to Marathon. Remember that staying in Key West is FUN too! There%26#39;s a wealth of info on this forum but feel welcome to keep asking questions.

I agree I wouldn%26#39;t stay in Key Largo either. It%26#39;s not that far to drive there. We usually do a day trip to Key Largo. Also wanted to let you know traffic can be really heavy on Labor Day. It seems the actual day of any holiday in the keys has very hectic traffic. I would make that a non-driving day.

When booking your place to stay keep in mind the gulf side if you want to watch the sunsets and Atlantic side if you want to watch the sunrises. It%26#39;s great you have the extra days. I know every time we go there we always want to ';call in sick'; and stay extra days.

Ditto what BORN said about the holiday traffic. We got caught in horrendous traffic on Memorial Day trying to get from Marathon to Tavernier to go to the movies. Took us 2 hours just to get to Worldwide Angler - gave up - had a couple of cocktails and turned around. This, of course, was north-bound traffic. I have heard south-bound traffic can be thick on Fridays lately. I guess we%26#39;re getting lots of weekenders. Traveleing EARLY on Fridays would be a good tactic and avoid the O/S on any actual holidays, esp Monday holidays.

Thanks again for all your help. We found a rental villa in Long Key so any advice on Long Key would be great. We want to enjoy nature but still enjoy drinks and dinner out so I want to make sure Long Key isn%26#39;t too remote. It%26#39;s on the Altantic side so we can walk over the gulf side for the sunsets. It%26#39;s right next to Long Key State Park which is nice and the rental includes kayak%26#39;s too :) Bonus!